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The Mighty Bush returned to Manchester last night in support of their Black and White Rainbows album and gave the O2 Ritz a masterclass in grunge tinged rock with a short but powerful set hinged for the most part around their incredible debut album Sixteen Stone.
First up though Milton Keynes rockers Raven Eye stormed the stage and played their hearts out for 40 minutes. Earning tons of new fans along the way with their loud and infectious tunes. Frontman Oli Brown stole the show though, whether it was with his exquisite bluesy guitar, up close and personal connection with the front row or playing a guitar solo from the shoulders of bassist Aaron Spiers.
Boisterous is the only word that can properly sum them up and we would definitely recommend that you go check them out. You will not be disappointed.
Bush took the stage and immediately launched into Everything Zen and from there on in it was massive tune after massive tune. It showed what a great back catalogue they have that they could start with a track like that and not lose any momentum at any point throughout the show.
They’ve always been able to captivate an audience. The first time I saw them they played in a tiny pub in Leeds with Placebo supporting them. However, by that time they had already been selling out arenas in the US and had honed their show on the biggest stages.
With the big chunk of tracks coming from 1994’s Sixteen Stone the gaps between were filled with the likes of Chemicals Between Us, Greedy Fly and new track This Is War – which underpinned by some meaty drumming, sounded massive.
Closing up a relatively short hour long set with the triple gut punch of Swallowed, Glycerine (performed as always by just Gavin and his guitar) and an incendiary Little Things which saw Gavin roam deep into the audience and cause complete havoc by starting his own mosh pit.
There is something truly magnificent about a sweaty Gavin Rossdale in a clingy t shirt and the amount of energy he puts into the show is clear for all to see. Several shouts of ‘take your top off’ from male members of the crowd confirmed this.
With barely a chance for either the crowd or the band to draw breath we were treated to an encore more than worthy of crowning off a successful night at the office for Bush. The huge Machinehead kicked things off and proved to be one of the biggest singalongs of the night and then a simply great version of R.E.M.’s classic The One I Love.
Comedown finished the show and it’s refrain of ‘I don’t wanna come back down from this cloud’ rang out across the venue and into the night long after the lights had gone up.
